Metal News for June 21, 2006

We post metal news every day, throughout the day, covering thousands of metal bands including underground and unsigned bands. You are currently browsing the news archive, but you can also find news by band.

New York based death metallers SKINLESS have posted two more new songs ("Spoils of the Sycophant" and "A Unilateral Disgust") from their recently released new album, Trample The Weak, Hurdle The Dead, over at their official MySpace page.

Ten years after the release of its debut EP, "Sacrament", the Pennsylvania-based metal obscurity DAWNBRINGER has completed its third full-length album. Entitled "In Sickness and In Dreams", the album is scheduled for a July release via Battle Kommand Records. An MP3 of the song "There and Back" is available at this location.

The new album is said to be a culmination of the wild and unconventional metal style found on the band's previous releases, combining a taste for modern speed with the melodic aspects of early U.S. and British metal. The album was written and produced by Chris Black (also a member of PHARAOH and SUPERCHRIST), who also handled the drums, bass, vocals, and keyboards during the recordings. More...

SHADOWS FALL's video for the track "In Effigy" has been posted online at Yahoo! Music. The song comes off the Massachusetts-based band's "Fallout from the War" CD, which features songs that didn't make it onto their breakthrough "The War Within" album, some B-sides from Japan releases and a few cover songs.

Released last week, "Fallout from the War" has sold just under 13,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at position No. 83 on next week's The Billboard 200 chart. This is substantially less than the 39,000 first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "The War Within", which came out in September 2004 and debuted at No. 20 on The Billboard 200 chart. "The War Within" has since sold a total of 259,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Legendary New York City grinders BRUTAL TRUTH will be playing a reunion show on September 3rd at the Double Door in Chicago, IL for the 2nd Annual Electric City Rockfest. Also performing will be PIG DESTROYER.

Conquer Records has announced the recent signing of Polish avant-garde black/death metal act DEVILISH IMPRESSIONS. The group's latest effort, "Plurima Mortis Imago", will hit the streets at the end of September "and will prove that not everything has been done in this genre yet!!!" according to a press release.

OBITUARY frontman John Tardy spoke to Metalupdate.com recently about a number of topics including the likelihood that they are thinking of releasing a new album without a record label. An excerpt from the interview found here follows:

Metalupdate.com: Any label interest?

Tardy: "As you can imagine, all the likely candidates. Nuclear Blast, Century Media, a handful of others who came to us. No firm offers but they have shown interest. We're at the point of kicking it around, leaving all our options open and half considering the fact we'll do it all on our own." More...

AFM Records has pushed back the projected release date of the new CIRCLE II CIRCLE album, "Burden of Truth", to October 6 from the previously announced August 4.

As previously reported, CIRCLE II CIRCLE — who feature in their ranks former SAVATAGE frontman Zachary Stevens — have created a very special record based on the "Holy Blood Holy Grail" and "The Da Vinci Code" theory of a Holy Bloodline extending up to our modern day. More...

INFINITUM OBSCURE, UNEXPECT, and POLTERCHRIST will be opening for DISSECTION on September 6th at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City, for what will be DISSECTION's last ever North American show. INFINITUM OBSCURE is also expected to be opening the Los Angeles date, though it's not clear if the other two bands will be performing at that show as well.

Brickhouse Recording's growing underground metal sensation, Lofat from Norfolk, Virginia is a band on the serious rise. They have kept busy on tour and are working toward completing the highly anticipated new material of the fat. They seem to have really won over quite a few new fans via Myspace so far. I enjoy this band so much I think because they do metal with a fresh approach, a bit quirky at times, while mixing in a lot of the straight ahead old school hardcore punk/thrash sound. Roaches is their debut video that you can checkout on their site as well -- it's totally killer from my perspective. I have always said they had an immediate star in Simon on guitar... and the rest of the boys aren't chop liver themselves. Ha! But Simon on lead guitar for Lofat and Jenna from Southern Cross, who sounds like Dime's little sister, oh man...lol. They are both something else on the scene right now. Such great talent. Well, I tracked down Lofat's bassist DZL to answer some questions on how the low end is being held for the fat. More...

Nevermore singer, Warrel Dane, posts an update on their official forum:

"It's been a long time coming but now we can confirm Friday August 25th, Studio Seven Seattle, we will be shooting footage for our first DVD so we expect total insanity from all you Seattle Neverheadz!!!"

Metal Blade Records has issued the following update on Germany’s RED AIM (www.redaim.de):

"Yes, it is true. Red Aim are on the verge of a new era. As reported in the media before, Dr. Rogers and crew have transcended into the realms of the ones who love to love the dead.

We promised you more details from the crypt - and now it´s time to unleash some facts:

Some days ago the satanic five finished a first studio session for the upcoming album, The Pink Necromantic. The title track (which will be the leading theme for the concept of the album - "the main theme of the necromantic as he rises") and some more catchy tracks have been recorded and will be mixed while this news come to light.

One or two more studio sessions in different studios with different producers are on the schedule for the upcoming months, and The Pink Necromantic is supposed to see the pale light of a release later this year.

The concept of The Pink Necromantic will be accompanied by a mere philosophical essay based upon the words of some classical philosophers as well as the deeds of some necromantic gentlemen in history."

Canadian extremists STRAPPING YOUNG LAD have just announced a slew of major Ozzfest "off" dates with such heralded acts as HATEBREED and UNEARTH, among others. The group have returned with "The New Black", a stunningly well-defined and more diverse effort that is soon to be a landmark in the epic pantheon of heavy metal. The much-anticipated new album is set for a July 11 release via Century Media Records.

DEICIDE, JUNGLE ROT, HURTLOCKER, and DESOLATION will be teaming up for a North American tour beginning in late September. According to a representative for DEICIDE's booking agency, Taylor Touring, the following dates have been confirmed so far:

King Diamond website Coven Worldwide has been updated with some news on the new album. According to mainman King Diamond and guitarist Andy La Rocque:

- The CD will contains 13 tracks, including an intro.- Five of the new songs have been written by Andy La Rocque.- The drums, bass and rhythm guitars have been recorded.- King will start writing the lyrics soon.- The CD probably won't be released until early 2007.

In a posting at their MySpace page, US metallers MASTODON have announced that their new album "Blood Mountain is done! Album is done and new www.mastodonrocks.com website coming really soon with all sorts of cool new things. The tour is going great, hope to see all of you out here, we're playing a few new songs come check it out."

The band have also posted the cover artwork as a puzzle here. The band add: "You really thought we were going to show you without you having to work? Like grandpappy once said nothing good comes easy. Solve the puzzle to see the artwork for Blood Mountain. Available summer 2006 (via Warner Bros.)."

Recently reformed Ohio-based power/thrash metallers AXEMASTER is now working with European promotion company Dragonight. A statement on the collaboration is as follows:

"Axemaster, the US-based heavy metal legend of the 80's, finally landed under Dragonight Agency wings. The band which includes guitarist/main songwriter Joe Sims, drummer Mike Hissam (formerly of OMEN and BELLADONA) and vocalist/bassist Christopher Michael are currently working on the new songs for the forthcoming comeback album, and are planning official re-release of the legendary Blessing In The Skies LP. Please (visit www.dragonight.de) for an in-depth talk with Joe Sims, and our the section for the classic 'Slave To The Blade' video clip! The band is currently preparing to record new material. New songs include 'Marching To Madness', 'Lost', and 'Unresting Place'. More news to come." For more info head to their Myspace page.

German metallers SACRED STEEL have set a November 10 release date via Massacre Records for their sixth album. The band will enter the Spiderhouse studio in Berlin on July 10 with legendary producer Harris Johns (VOIVOD, HELLOWEEN, ST. VITUS, DEPRESSIVE AGE, SODOM, KREATOR) to begin recording the effort. Mixing will take place at the Music Lab Studio at the heart of the German capital. Sontitles set to appear on the CD include "Where Demons Dare To Tread", "Impaled By Metal", "Children of the Spirit", "Pounding Inferno" and "Hell Insanity".

Hot on the heels of THRESHOLD's highly acclaimed live album, "Surface To Stage", comes a brand new three-track single available exclusively to download from iTunes.

The single features radio edits of "Pressure" and "Mission Profile" and a previously unheard acoustic version of the ballad "Flags And Footprints". Tracks can be purchased individually and you can hear audio samples at iTunes or the THRESHOLD web site.

Sweden's WOLF have set "The Black Flame" as the title of their fourth album, due this fall release via Century Media Records in Europe and Prosthetic Records in the U.S. The band are currently tracking the effort at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden and will be done recording by the end of June. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "The Bite", "I Will Kill Again", "Silverbullit Eater", and "Black Magic". The follow-up to 2004's "Evil Star" will be the first album to feature new drummer Tobias R Kellgren and longtime session/live guitarist Johannes Losbäck alongside founding members Niklas Stålvind (vocals, lead guitar) and Mikael Goding (bass).

With regards to the new album's musical direction, the band said, "Think old-school metal without beeing old-fashioned. It's heavy as hell and will hit you like a ton off bricks. It has a horror vibe to it that won't let you be, and it could be a soundtrack to old Eighties horror movies. Oh yes, it contains alot off heavy metal too...A LOT!" More...

West Virginia's HYDROGYN have announced the addition of bassist Chris Sammons to the group's ranks. "Chris is replacing the now departed Dave Moody," the group write in a statement. "Chris comes into the band delivering a thunderous playing style and keen knack for playing in the pocket. Chris adds new dimensions to the HYDROGYN sound and brings a wealth of knowledge on his instrument from years of study in jazz.

"Chris has been rehearsing with the band for the past month and played his first gig with HYDROGYN at CBGBs in NYC this past Saturday, June 17th."

HYDROGYN's new album, "Bombshell" — which features a cover of SKID ROW's "18 and Life" (audio found on their Myspace page) — was released through Chavis Records. Audio samples can be heard at the band's official web site, www.hydrogyn.com.

In other news, TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones recently stopped by the BBC Radio 1 studios for an interview, which aired last night (June 20) on the "Rock Show". Listen to a replay of the program at BBC.co.uk.